TAMPA, Fla. -- Despite several arrests amid a crackdown following the deaths of two people, street racing continues in Tampa Bay.
The driver of a Dodge Challenger was racing another sports car on North Florida Avenue on Wednesday when he hit a sedan and injured an innocent driver. Officers are still looking for the second racer involved.
It's a high-speed headache for other drivers and law enforcement alike.
“It's people that are just out there being crazy,” Glenda LaFaye said.
Speeding bikers on the Selmon Expressway have given LaFaye a track-side view of a race she wants nothing to do with.
“There's gotta be a way for them to stop this,” she said.
Tampa police say they're trying. They use helicopters and unmarked cars --a big effort for a misdemeanor offense.
A major challenge with catching racers on bridges is they split two different jurisdictions. Plus it’s hard to predict where drivers will go.
“It's something of a cat and mouse game,” said Steve Hegarty, Tampa police spokesperson. "If we expect one bridge, they might go to another bridge.”
The street racers take videos of their wild rides and share them on social media. Hegarty said they use the videos to figure out who's racing and where, but it's not enough evidence for investigators to build a case.
“At some point, people just have to get the message that you could lose your life, you could lose their license, and others could lose their life or be injured as well,” Hegarty said.
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